TOO MUCH
by Signora Ramazzotti
Summary: Stress... School and the work at Higher for Hire... This all slowly becomes too much for Kit... COMPLETE!
1. Too much

Author's Note: I don't own Tale Spin or the characters, I'm just a fan who loves to write. Since I'm from Austria and English is a foreign language to me, there might be a few grammar mistakes in this fic. Don't be afraid to review!  
  
Enjoy reading!  
  
(Viel Spaß beim Lesen auch an alle German-Speakers)  
  
TOO MUCH  
  
Chapter 1  
  
It was a wonderful morning in Cape Suzette. A morning with sunshine, singing birds and gentle waves from the sea.  
  
In a wooden building at the harbor, known as Higher for Hire, a small brown bearcub laid in his bed. He was sleeping peacefully and wasn't disturbed by the ordinary snoring noises that came from the other bed in the room where a big grey bear enjoyed his beauty sleep.  
  
The loud ringing of the alarm clock on the nightstand interrupted the silence.  
  
With closed eyes Baloo rolled over to reach onto the nightstand and tried to put out the alarm. His hand hit the clock and it fell to the floor where it continued ringing. The big bear grunted annoyed and finally opened his eyes. Silently scolding he got up and picked the noise maker up from the floor and turned it off.  
  
The pilot sighed heavily and looked at the boy, who was still asleep. Baloo couldn't believe that Kit overheard the alarm clock. Maybe the kid's sick or somethin..., he thought.  
  
He went over to the small bed and gently shook the sleeping cub. "Kit? Hey, L'il Britches..."  
  
Kit couldn't believe that it was already seven 'o clock in the morning. He hadn't slept well the last few days and felt like he'd just gone to bed. "Not... happening," he mumbled into his sheets. He rolled himself over onto his back and slowly opened his sleepy eyes to face the pilot. "Hey..."  
  
Baloo looked at the cub and chuckled a bit. "You should see the look on yer face now kiddo."  
  
"Very funny." Kit sat up and yawned. "Please tell me that you set a wrong alarm."  
  
"Nope," Baloo replied. "7.00 a.m., not a minute later. And since school starts at 8 you probably should get up now."  
  
Kit replied with another yawn and slowly pulled back the sheets and got up. He felt sightly dizzy this morning. School, helping out at Higher for Hire and the little sleep really were overtaxing him.  
  
He walked over to the closet beside the door and pulled out his old, green sweater which he put on over his white nightshirt.  
  
Baloo watched as the boy reached onto the nightstand to put on his red and blue base-ball cap and frowned at the slow tired moves.  
  
"Ain't ya feelin' well, kiddo?" The pilot asked concerned.  
  
Kit faced the bear. "No, I'm fine."  
  
"It's just that you don't look so good," Baloo replied, still concerned.  
  
"Well, thank you," Kit simply said and walked out of the bedroom.  
  
"Wait." Baloo quickly followed him down the stairs.  
  
Rebecca was already behind her desk and buisily writing something down in her notebook. When her two friends came down the stairs, she looked up. "Morning!"  
  
"Morning, Ms. Cunningham." Kit smiled at her and then picked up his school bag which laid beside her desk.  
  
"Mornin' Becky," Baloo said quickly and then turned his attention back to Kit, who was already walking towards the door. "Kit, wait. Don't you want to have breakfast?"  
  
"No," Kit replied and opened the door. "I have an important test at school today."  
  
Baloo frowned. "But it's only ten past seven."  
  
"I know, but I totally forgot learn, so I have to do that at school now," the cub said. "Bye, Papa Bear. Bye, Ms. Cunningham."  
  
"Have a good day," Rebecca said and then continued writing.  
  
"Bye." Baloo said slowly when the door was already closed again.  
  
Now this was defenitely not typical for Kit. The boy normally never forgot to learn for school. And usually Kit was the first to get up in the morning and to have breakfast. Baloo noticed that the cub had been a little absent- minded the last couple of days and it kinda worried him. Kit was usually bright and full of life but he seemed so quiet now.  
  
"Hello? Baloo? Baloo!!!"  
  
"Huh?" Baloo jumped and spun around to face his boss.  
  
Rebecca sighed. "I called your name like three times!" She got up and picked up her clipboard from the desk. "Pinapple delivery to Dahka today," she announced and handed the clipboard to her pilot.  
  
Baloo looked at the clipboard. "Dahka... okay."  
  
Rebecca frowned. "Okay? That's all? What's wrong with you? Normally you start complaining when I tell you what your delieveries are."  
  
"I'm just not in the mood for a discussion today," the pilot simply said and walked outside to load the cargo into the Sea Duck.  
  
What's the matter with him today? Rebecca wondered. She silently shook her head and went back to her desk.  
  
"Hey, Kit!" Ernie called out when he entered the classroom and saw his best friend sitting on his place.  
  
No response.  
  
Ernie noticed that Kit was asleep over his algebra book, looking like dead. He walked over to the little navigator and shook his shoulder. "Hey, wake up!"  
  
Kit stirred a bit but continued to sleep.  
  
Ernie shook his head. Sam, one of his classmate, came closer and chuckled. "What's wrong with him?"  
  
Ernie shrugged. "Don't know. I don't think that sleeping over a school book is very relaxing."  
  
Just then the school bell rang.  
  
"We've got to wake him up before the teacher comes," Ernie said and shook Kit again, this time harder. "Hey, buddy! Algebra test!"  
  
Kit jumped. "What?!" Confused he looked around. What had happened? What were the others doing here so early?  
  
He glanced at his watch. "WHAT?!" he yelled again. "8 'o clock! Damn! I wanted to learn for the test!"  
  
"Looks like you fell asleep during your learning process," Ernie said and took a seat beside Kit.  
  
Kit closed his eyes for a second. He fell asleep? No, that couldn't be. He didn't remember anything of algebra. How should he write this test?  
  
"Good morning, kids." Mrs. Reid, the algebra teacher, entered the room and dropped her school books and her briefcase on her desk.  
  
She opened her book and pulled a bunch of sheets out of her briefcase. "Ready for the test?"  
  
"Absolutely not," Kit whispered desperated.  
  
Mrs. Reid didn't even wait for a response and began to distribute the sheets with the questions for the test.  
  
After she was done she returend to her desk and sat down. "You've got twenty minutes for the test. Good luck!"  
  
While the others started writing, Kit stared at the first exercise:  
  
2a² 34b² .2 = 45ab²  
  
He had no idea how to solve this equation. The next one wasn't better:  
  
46xy – x² .23yx² -46x² = 120yx²  
  
He chewed on his pencil. Normally he was really good at school, even in algebra. But right now it seemed to him like he had never seen an equation before in his entire life. He sighed.  
  
The numbers became blurred in front of his vision. He closed his eyes and then opened them again and started to write something down but he was sure it wasn't the right solution.  
  
"Twenty minutes are over now," Mrs. Reid said finally after a time. "Put your pencils down and give me your tests."  
  
Damn! Kit thought and took a last look at his test. It didn't look good. He sighed and got up to put his sheet down on Mrs. Reid's desk.  
  
"It went pretty good," Ernie said after they all took their seats again. "This test could be my first B. I bet you get an A again, Kit."  
  
"Oh, I don't think so," Kit replied. "My test is a disaster! I hope I still get a D."  
  
"Will you two be quiet please?" Mrs. Reid glared at them and then turned back to the blackboard. "Now where were we..."  
  
Kit didn't listen. He was too deep in his thoughts and too tired. If he brought home a bad mark, Baloo would want to know if he had any problems he wanted to talk about. But did he have any problems? Things were a little stressful lately but this couldn't be a reason for not learning. Kit had always learned, no matter how stressful life was. He didn't know the reason himself, so what should he tell Baloo?  
  
It was already 6.20pm when Kit came home from the longest school day and pushed the door to Higher for Hire open and entered Rebecca's office.  
  
The Sea Duck hadn't been out in the water so Kit suggested that his Papa Bear was still high up in the air.  
  
Molly was sitting in a corner playing with her dolls. "Hi Kit!" she greeted him cheerfully.  
  
Rebecca was rumaging around in a drawer, obviously looking for something. When she heard Kit enter, she looked up and smiled at him. "Hi, sweety. How was school?"  
  
The cub sighed and dropped his school bag to the floor.  
  
"Hard day?" Rebecca asked. She pulled out a piece of paper from the drawer and shut it again.  
  
"The hardest day," Kit replied.  
  
"Something you want to talk about, honey?"  
  
"Uh... no," Kit said.  
  
"Well, if you feel like talking... you know we're always here for you," Rebecca said gently and smiled.  
  
"Thanks, Ms. Cunningham. But it's really nothing."  
  
She put the paper down on her desk. "Kit, could you do me a favor and watch Molly for a while? I have to go downtown and buy some notepaper. It's really important."  
  
"Sure. No problem," Kit replied. Actually he was really beaten up from school and had also to do his homework but he just felt like he couldn't say no to Rebecca. Allthough he felt like he could fall asleep any second now.  
  
"Oooh, we're gonna have so much fun, Kit," Molly yelled and jumped onto his back.  
  
"Oofff!" Kit nearly fell under the sudden weight but somehow managed to keep his balance.  
  
"Molly, promise me not to cause Kit troubles, alright?" Rebecca said firmly.  
  
Molly got off Kit's back and held her hand up. "I promise."  
  
"I'll be back soon," Rebecca said and grabbed her coat.  
  
"See you later, Ms. Cunningham."  
  
"Bye Mommy!" Molly waved as her mother left the building. Then she turned around to face Kit. "Let's play with my dollies!"  
  
Kit sighed and smiled. "Okay."  
  
Suddenly they heard the familiar sound of the Sea Ducks engines outside. Baloo was back from his cargo trip. They heard the cockpit door be thrown open and a silent scolding from the pilot.  
  
"I'll go see what got him so angry," Kit said and headed for the door. Molly followed him outside where Baloo angrily opened the cargo hatch.  
  
"Hi, Papa Bear," Kit said. He walked up to Baloo and looked into the cargo hold. Inside were still the crates with the tons of pinapples. "Uh... weren't you supposed to deliever them?"  
  
"These Dahka-people told me they hadn't had ordered any pinapples," Baloo grumbled. "The whole way for nothing! Where's Becky? I gotta tell her somethin'..."  
  
The pilot stormed off into the office. Two minutes later he appeared again in the doorway. "Where is she?"  
  
"Buying notes," Molly said.  
  
"Notepaper," Kit corrected her. This day was just great. Just as the other days have been last week. In the morning everything was fine and in the afternoon everyone was annoyed and frustrated.  
  
"Aw, this is just great," Baloo said and threw his hands up in the air. Finally he tried to calm down a bit. "Hey, Kit will ya help me unload the crates and bring them into the barn?"  
  
"Okay, but actually–"  
  
"Why didn't they take the cargo? They must have ordered pinapples, otherwise..." The big grey bear trailed off as he disapeared into the cargo hold. He was too upset to notice Kit's tired look and even forgot to ask him about his school day which he normally does every day.  
  
Kit sighed and joined the pilot in the cargo hold. It was very hard to carry the crates over the wooden footbridge to the barn. These pinapples were really heavy. Kit felt like he needed a double because he also had to keep an eye on Molly, who was sitting at the end of the pier and watching them. Plus tons of homework were waiting for him. He had no idea how he should handle this but he just couldn't let Baloo do all the work alone.  
  
He gave me a new home so the least I can do is help him out with his work, Kit always thought. Allthough it wasn't always that easy.  
  
It was already dark when they were finished because one of the crates was so big that it didn't fit through the door of the barn. They had to put all the pinapples into smaller crates and it took two whole hours.  
  
Rebecca and Molly had already gone home.  
  
Kit felt very dizzy and only wanted to go to bed but then he remembered he had still a lot of homework to do.  
  
"Phew," Baloo said. "I'm glad that this day is over." He touched his stomach. "I'm starving. I think I'm gonna make us something to eat. What do ya say, L'il Britches?"  
  
"Not for me, thanks," Kit replied. "I have a lot of homework to do."  
  
"But Kit you gotta eat something," Baloo said looking concerned. "Homework can't be that important."  
  
"But it is." Kit slowly began to walk up the stairs. "I can't risk to forget any homework since I screwed up my test today." He stopped. Damn, you've said too much! he thought and did a mental headsmack.  
  
"Was that the test where you forgot to learn?" Baloo asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I thought you wanted to learn at school for it."  
  
"Uh..." Kit didn't know what to answer. He didn't want Baloo to know that he fell asleep at school. And he also didn't want him to know that he hadn't been feeling well the whole last week. He didn't want him to know about the little sleep he got. Baloo had got his own problems, he didn't need Kit's.  
  
"Kit, I can see that something is bothering you," Baloo finally spoke up. "But you have to tell me. Otherwise I can't help you."  
  
"Baloo, it's just..." the cub started. But then he simply said: "I just want to go upstairs now and do my homework. Okay?"  
  
"Okay, L'il Britches." Baloo sighed and watched as the boy disappeared.  
  
The pilot didn't know what to do. He wanted to help his little navigator but he didn't know how. He didn't understand why Kit didn't want to talk to him.  
  
Doesn't he trust me? Baloo thought sadly.  
  
Finally the pilot decided to go upstairs and talk to Kit. He wanted to know what was wrong with his pardner. He had noticed that Kit wasn't the same anymore. The cub had changed. He hadn't been so active anymore and hadn't laughed much.  
  
He has to tell me, the grey bear thought.  
  
Kit closed the bedroom door and stopped for a second. He felt dizzy and swayed a bit. He leaned against the wall to steady himself. He had no idea how he should do his homework.  
  
His school books laid on the nightstand. Kit wanted to pick them up but before he could reach the nightstand a huge wave of weariness swept over him. He fell slowly without feeling pain to the floor and he was wrapped up in black darkness. He felt so tired. Through his dimmed senses he heard a knock at the door and then he knew nothing more.  
  
"Kit?"  
  
Baloo slowly opened the door. "Kit, I just want to..."  
  
He stopped when he saw Kit motionless lying on the floor.  
  
"Kit!" he yelled and stormed over to the unconscious cub. Shaking with concern he kneeled down beside him and gently shook him. "Kit, wake up!"  
  
The boy didn't move.  
  
Baloo started to panic. He picked Kit up and carefully laid him down on his bed. The pilot tried it one more time: "L'il Britches, can you hear me?"  
  
Nothing.  
  
The pilot hurried out of the bedroom, nearly tripping over his own feet when he stormed down the stairs. He rushed over to the phone and quickly dialed.  
  
"Hello? I need an ambulance!"  
  
To be continued.... 


	2. Scary minutes

------  
  
White simple walls.  
  
The smell of disinfectant.  
  
Baloo hated hospitals. The fact that Kit might be seriously sick drove the pilot crazy. For one hour he had been sitting onto a small bench in front of the ICU.  
  
The examination couldn't take that much time!  
  
Baloo ran his hands over his face and jumped up. He had to move now, otherwise he would go crazy because of all the worry.  
  
When the ambulance had raced to the hospital with its siren and lights flashing, a sudden image of a life without Kit had appeared in Baloo's mind.  
  
It was a horrible image and it was haunting him.  
  
When the paramedics had been hurrying to the emergency room with the cub lying on the stretcher and told Baloo to wait outside, he suddenly had realized that he wasn't able to live without Kit anymore  
  
The pilot walked up and down the corridor. It was awful to be so powerless. He wanted to go in there and help Kit but he didn't know how.  
  
Suddenly a nurse, a blonde squirrel, appeared beside him. She smiled. "Do you want to call someone? There's a phone at the end of the corridor."  
  
"Call...," Baloo mumbled confused when he realized that Rebecca still had no idea what was going on. "Uh... yeah. Yes, thank you! I... I hafta call Becky!" He hurried down the corridor and stopped when he saw the phone at the wall.  
  
He was slightly surprised to find a few coins in his pocket which he needed for the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Becky... Becky it's me," he tried to calm himself down a little bit.  
  
"Baloo?" she asked surprised "At this hour? What's wrong?"  
  
"Kit... Kit collapsed," Baloo said and felt tears well up in his eyes.  
  
Rebecca's voice got worried. "What? What do you mean he collapsed?"  
  
"I don't know! He just got unconscious... and...," the pilot noticed that he was shaking with concern and swallowed hard, trying to hold back the tears.  
  
"Oh my god... Which hospital?"  
  
"Suzette Memorial."  
  
"Okay, I'll be right there." With that she hung up.  
  
Baloo leaned against the wall and sighed. As soon as Rebecca would be here, he wouldn't have to wait all alone.  
  
...  
  
----  
  
...  
  
Rebecca hurried down the corridor and saw Baloo nervously walking around.  
  
"Baloo!"  
  
The big grey bear turned around. "I'm so glad you're here," he said.  
  
Rebecca walked up to him and hugged him tightly. "Hey, it's all gonna be alright, you'll see."  
  
No matter how angry and annoyed he was sometimes because of Rebecca, right now at this moment he loved her and silently thanked her for standing by his side.  
  
"What about Molly?" Baloo asked.  
  
"I told Wildcat to watch her." Rebecca pulled the pilot down onto the small bench and grabbed his hand. "How is he?"  
  
"I don't know! That's what drives me nuts! Kit is in there and I don't know what's wrong with him! I...," he buried his face in his hands.  
  
Rebecca put her arm around his massive shoulders. "You have to calm down, Baloo. You're not going to help him with your panic."  
  
Baloo inhaled deeply. "Okay.... you're right, Becky. But tell me, why isn't anybody telling me what's going on?"  
  
"I don't know," Rebecca had to admit. "But I'm sure as soon as they found out what's wrong with him they will tell you."  
  
"And what if they don't know what's wrong?" Baloo looked at her.  
  
Rebecca was glad that in this moment the door to the ICU flew open and a thin polar bear entered the corridor.  
  
"Good evening, I'm Dr. Frank," he introduced himself.  
  
Baloo jumped up. "I'm Baloo. How's Kit?"  
  
Rebecca got up as well and grabbed the pilot's arm.  
  
"Well, the boy collapsed because the Burn-Out-syndrome," the doctor explained.  
  
"What? What does that mean?" Baloo's heart raced with fear.  
  
"Please sit down, Mr. Baloo," Dr. Frank said and waited until Baloo and Rebecca had taken their seats again. "The Burn-Out-Syndrome is usually the result of too much stress. The body doesn't cooperate anymore and just... collapses. Not enough sleep can also be a reason."  
  
"Oh no..." Rebecca said.  
  
Baloo swallowed hard. "And... how is he now?"  
  
Dr. Frank looked at his clipboard. "He's in a deep sleep right now. We don't know yet when he's going to wake up."  
  
"Deep sleep? Ya mean like... coma?" Baloo's heart sank.  
  
"Yes, but with the small exception that it will not last more than two weeks." When he saw the worried look at the pilot's face he added. "But don't worry. It may also be possible that he wakes up tomorrow. His body just needs to get back his strength and sleep."  
  
"This is all my fault," Baloo mumbled and ran his hand over his face.  
  
"No, stop talking crazy!" Rebecca protested.  
  
"Becky, I knew how stressed out he was! I knew it and I didn't do anything! It's my fault that he's in the hospital!" he yelled.  
  
"Please, calm down, Mr. Baloo," Dr. Frank said. "It's certainly not your fault. Did the boy say anything about having to much stress?"  
  
Rebecca shook her head. "I did notice that he was having problems but when I asked him about it he said it was nothing."  
  
"That's the point," Baloo said. "He never tells us when something's bothering him. Why? Doesn't he trust me?"  
  
Rebecca didn't know what to say. Instead she looked at Dr. Frank. "Can we see him?"  
  
"Sure." The doctor nodded. "Follow me."  
  
Baloo and Rebecca got up and followed Dr. Frank into the ICU. They walked down another corridor and Dr. Frank opened a door on the left side.  
  
Kit lay in a bed in the middle of the room, a IV in his left hand and a breathing tube in his mouth. A regular bleeping from a unit next to the bed showed his heart tones.  
  
Baloo grabbed a chair from the wall and sat down besides Kit. Rebecca took a seat on the other side of the bed.  
  
The pilot grabbed Kit's hand and whispered "L'il Britches... I dunno if you can hear me but... you're not alone. I'm here for you... and I'll always be..."  
  
...   
  
to be continued...  
  
Thanks for all the reviews! 


	3. Kit's thoughts

_Where am I?_

_Am I still alive?_

_It's so dark and cold. I feel so tired._

_A voice... so far away. Someone's talking to me but I'm not able to understand the words. Everything is dimmed._

_The voice is speaking gently to me. Full of warmth... Baloo._

_I want to answer him. I want to tell him that I'm fine and he doesn't have to worry... but I don't know how. I can't even form words in my mind._

_I want to open my eyes and look at him. I want to see his face... but I can't open my eyes. They feel so heavy. I'm so tired._

_Slightly I can feel him holding my hand. I want to squeeze back, move my fingers but I feel too weak. I can't move._

_Please, don't leave, Papa Bear..._

_---------_

I know it's short but it took me extremely long to write this. Please review!


	4. We are a family

Chapter 4

--------

Sunlight streamed through the window into the hospital room. Baloo was asleep in a chair beside Kit's bed, Rebecca and Molly on the other side.

They had spent the night in the hospital which Baloo had done every single day since his young navigator was brought in. A whole week had passed and the boy didn't wake up. The pilot was more worried than ever and it drove him crazy. The only good thing was that Kit was able to breathe on his own again. The strength was slowly returning to his body.

Kit's eye lids quivered. Slowly he opened his eyes.

White.

Everything was white and the sunlight dazzeled him.

Then his ears picked up a snoring sound beside him. He slightly turned his head to the right and saw the sleeping pilot who rested his head onto the bed.

Kit closed his eyes again for a few seconds and softly squeezed Baloo's paw, causing the grey bear to stir. Feeling the cub's hand, the pilot quickly opened his eyes and looked up.

"Oh my gosh... Kit", he mumbled softly when he saw that the boy was awake.

Kit's reply was only a weak whisper. "Papa Bear..."

Baloo smiled at him and felt a few tears of joy welling up in his eyes. "How do you feel, L'il Britches?" he asked in a low voice, not trying to wake up the others.

"I dunno... pretty confused," Kit whispered. "What happened?"

"Well, you overdid yerself, kiddo," the pilot explained slowly. "You collapsed."

Kit considered for a second. "Was... was that yesterday?"

Baloo slightly shook his head. "A week ago."

"A whole week…" Kit closed his eyes for a second.

The pilot stood up. "I'll be right back, L'il Britches."

As soon as Baloo had left Rebecca inhaled deeply and opened her eyes.

"Morning, Miz Cunningham." Kit said quietly.

"Kit! Oh honey, you're awake!" She smiled and gently grabbed his paw.

The yellow bear cub yawned. "You've been sleeping for a very long time, Kit. I really missed you. Why did you sleep here and not at home?"

"Uh… well…"

Before Kit could give a reply Baloo was back with the doctor.

"Finally you're awake, young man," he said as he quickly approached the bed. "I'm Dr. Frank by the way. How are you feeling?"

"A bit tired," the cub replied as Dr. Frank shone a small flashlight into each of his eyes. Baloo had already sat himself down again beside Kit.

"Well, everything looks just fine," the doctor said when he was done with his examination. "I think in about three days you'll have your strength back and then you can go home again."

"Three days…" Kit sighed.

Baloo smiled. "Of course I'll stay with you." He slowly got up and shook Dr. Frank's hand. "Thank you very much, doctor."

"You're welcome. And don't worry he'll be just fine." Dr. Frank smiled. And to Kit he said: "I'll see you later."

"Ok, thank you, doctor." Kit watched as the doctor left the room.

"Uh, Becky…" Baloo spoke up. "Could you take Molly down to the cafeteria and give me a minute alone with Kit?"

"Sure." The woman got up and grabbed Molly's paw. "Come on, pumpkin."

As soon as they were gone the room turned silent.

Finally Baloo took a deep breath. "L'il Britches… you… you've had me really worried there…"

"But you don't have to be anymore," Kit said. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, but…" The pilot grabbed the boys paw. "The whole time I thought it was my fault, y'know? I mean… I didn't recognize that you've been working so hard lately and…"

"No," Kit interrupted him. "No, it's really not your fault, Papa Bear! I…" He sighed, "I should have told you."

"Yes, you really should have."

They were both silent for a few seconds before Baloo went on. "Kit, why didn't you tell me?"

"I dunno." Kit stared at the white wall.

"Is it… because you don't trust me?" Baloo asked quietly.

Kit suddenly looked at him. "No! Baloo, that's not it. I trust you. I really do!"

Baloo brushed the hair out of the cub's face. "Then what was the reason?"

"I didn't tell you because… well, I sort of felt guilty."

"Guilty?" The pilot didn't understand.

"Yeah, I mean… you gave me a new home and…" Kit sigehd "… and I thought the last thing I could do was help you out wherever I can."

Baloo was slightly shocked. "Oh, L'il Britches, why would you think something stupid like that? I've never asked you to work hard 'cause you live with me! Kit, I really care about you. We're a family!"

_We're a family… _

Kit felt tears well up in his eyes. He didn't know what to say.

"Kit, do you understand what I'm saying?"

_We're a family…_

Kit slowly nodded and sat up throwing his arms around the big grey bear. "I love you, Papa Bear, " he whispered as a few tears streamed down his cheeks.

Baloo wasn't expecting Kit's outburst and felt a few tears well up in his own eyes. He hugged the cub back, silently comforting him. "I love you too, L'il Britches… Forever…"

--- The End ---

It's done! Finally I got to finish my fanfic! (Thanks to Christmas holidays ) Please review! Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it.


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